Just submitted my proposal for Emerge: Leeds New Work Festival of performance and live art the deadline was really short so didn’t get a chance to post this on my blog. I have proposed to use the structure of The Evente, and tailor the piece to be more site specific by making reference to the towns they are twinned with such as Braşov in Romania, Stockholm, Sweden and St Mary, Jamaica. As I like my work to engage with accidental audiences I thought the perfect site for the work would be in a shopping centre. I have been online researching events that happen in shopping centres and there are many:
Movie played in store
Luxury make-over
Cupcake launch
Meet the expert & get advice
Wine/Food tasting
Meet a famous person
Get a signed personalised bottle, to and from
Make your own flag
Royal footmen meeters & greeters
*Link in brand and location of shop of featured product. Chosen charity mentioned within promotion.
The most odd event I found was for Fendi who had commissioned an artwork which involved the craftsman creating an installation in Harrods shop window, nothing new in that. Although during the process the craftsman will have his heart rate monitored which will then trigger and operate a sewing machine creating another piece of work. Quote:
Each stitch will literally come from the heart…
Someone pass me the bucket
Brilliant promotion or brilliant artwork, can it really be both? I don’t like artwork that has a specific message it really irritates me as I just feel it is too contrived and designed. A good artwork for me is a multi layered thing with many meanings & readings. If I wanted my work to be ‘on message’ I would have worked in advertising.
Please follow this link for more info about Fendi Fatto A Mano: Artwork for the future: http://www.harrods.com/GlobalPages/EventArticle.as…
Finally made my first set of promo boxes and sent them off yesterday. The aim of them is to promote a specific piece of work and to give people a mental nudge to keep me in mind for opportunities that might come up in the future. I re-call reading the book Jaques Lacan for beginners on my degree course and he makes some fascinating observations about how society is built on a ‘gift culture’ which has stuck with me. I noticed the gift culture in China and how this action is used in the retail environment. Recently a collegue of my husband, a graphic designer sent out a company designed brochure with no contact details on or clue as to who had sent the item. However due to the interest in the design people did their own research to seek out the sender. This is a positive response to the simple action of sending something in the post. Although I then watched a TV show about ‘Variety Performance’ and Bruce Forsyth was being interviewed and commented that:
I gave out business cards to everyone I met, I even went round all the agencies to see them personally, but no-one ever rang me back.
After sending my boxes off at the post office I then got a pang of, oh my god what am I doing? This happens to me frequently when I have just made work. I can feel really confident about a decision, go full steam ahead, then straight after making something I worry what people will think of it, of me. Sometimes I find it hard to separate out the work and myself as they are both so entwined. To curb this anxiety I have been gathering material about performance by observing people and activity happening around me for example in my ‘Magician’ video at the Chinese Arts Centre and plane video. Although I still feel the work is stronger when I combine video with a live art presence. I digress, back to the promotion of work which I have used the internet to show videos but with the popularity of surfing the net I feel the work can be seen and easily forgotten. This is not a judgement on the work but the speed at which we use our computers and consume images in our everyday lives. Fundamentally people still want something to take away with them, can performance artists really aviod using the object in their work?
Outside of the studio in my payed/regular/work reality I find it fascinating observing people in particular group dynamics and selling products in the shop. I want to use this blog to keep a note of these observations as and when they come up. What I have found is when I actually write and put these observations out there they then feed back into my performance work.
In a professional situation generally people will speak overly positively about a subject to maintain a good impression.
When a challenging comment arises in a group discussion it is quickly followed by a postive point of view.
I have picked up on rythms and patterns in the group when they speak.
Do people speak to respond to a specific question or simply to be seen to be heard?
The customer appears eager, happy, even grateful to go and get a coupon to get discount rather than simply be given it.
When offered the gift wrap service the customer seems more likely to fill out a card to join our mailing list.
Saying hello can break the ice, make people leave, encourage them to ask questions and use our services.
When the customer trys on the product generally they will buy it.
The customer likes re-assurance when browsing and buying.
The customer appears to appreciate being given extra information such as the different colours the product is avaible in.
Acknowledging the customers ‘designer’ bag is warmly greeted then followed by a brief itenary of the amount of branded items they own.
Customer: What’s the point of it if I can’t see the logo on it?
Customer: My dingly dangly was stolen you know they are very desirable.
The store music mentions a colour in every song.
So finally I have given into having a studio and so far it feels really good. I was a bit unsure whether I would actually use it regularly but I have got into a habit of coming twice a week and then working on proposals at home. Mirabel Studios opened in August 2009 and has quickly become a hub of Manchester’s emerging artists, with graduates and Masters Students from the regions Art Schools including MMU, University of Salford, Liverpool John Moores and University of Huddersfield. I am sharing the space with my friend/artist Andrea Cotton who was on my MA course at Liverpool. It’s a clean space, which has a built in desk, lots of light and most importantly it’s in the centre of town. This means that I can get bits and pieces when I need them so there is no excuse to put things off which I used to do when I was working at home. I thought I might use the space to store some work and materials but so far I am really enjoying simply having what I need rather than lots of clutter around me.
Currently I am working on a set of multiples to promote my performance The Eventé, which consists of an A5 box with a few goodies in. I like the repetitive process of making up the boxes, applying tape and sticking stuff down. Inside the box burst balloons from a previous performance cushion the ephemera. I have been considering whether to number the boxes as an edition but then I thought if Marcel Duchamp and Damien Hurst can randomly add to a set then it’s OK for me to do it. I do find it funny that by simply adding a number onto the work it then becomes more valuable, or does this only really apply when you are famous? At home I have just submitted a proposal for Poolside Emergency at the Bluecoat, if you are interested in applying for this please follow the link:
http://poolside.posterous.com/
I have proposed to combine using a live presence with video as a silent meeter and greeter who then simply becomes a surface to project onto in a one to one performance. The video which will be projected onto me is of a plane being prepared for take off. I have used this video before in a previous performance, however I see this as an opportunity to make a one to one piece. I have become fixated with this plane video and have also submitted it as a pure video piece for some art competitions. The multiple comes up alot in my work and the idea of the double image. How many times can I use this plane video before it feels tired? It doesn’t feel like it yet it still feels fresh and mesmerizing every time I watch it. Oh dear does this mean that I am becoming a bit of a plane spotter?
Plane video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsdaJ1OwP0k
